FALTER

CHAPTER 12: Wish she were here.

Imti spun the plastic straw hand in his hand absent-mindedly. His forearm felt sticky on the table of the diner but he used the stimulation to get lost deeper in his thoughts. The droning of the other customers and the cold, slightly smelly air that was ruffling his curly hair both washed over him as another feeling to be immersed in and enjoy as he kept his mind occupied.

It had been a long time since he'd had a proper deep dive into his memories, and this was obviously intentional. He had put a lot of effort into building his new life, and while it was still marked by intermittent failures, Imti found that his past could never even hold a candle to it. No, it was better to bury everything he had face deep down. After all, everything that happened made him who he was and so there wasn't any reason to think of it.

And yet, recently, Imti was struggling to keep his mental barriers intact. Unwelcome flashes of what used to be the most important people in his life kept interjecting his view of the straw spinning faster and faster in his hand. Suddenly, the air conditioning no longer seemed to be working as Imti felt uncomfortably hot, and the chatter of everyone around him went from pleasant white noise to piercingly annoying. He could almost feel the fire singeing the hair on his arm, just like it did 15 years ago in the dreary town of Norock.

The bell above the door clattered merrily as someone entered through the door. There was an audible gasp from the people sitting near the entrance, and suddenly the energy of every conversation taking place in the comfortably dingy diner seemed to have increased. Imti didn't have to look up to know who it was.

He stopped spinning the straw and angrily crushed it in his hand. The sharp edges of its now crumpled form dug into Imti's hands, stopping the train of memories in its tracks.

"Sorry I'm early," Chai said smoothly as he slid into the booth. He sat down opposite of Imti, looked at his friend and then down to his empty plate. With a dissatisfied look on his face, Chai called the waitress over.

"Oh I forgot I'm starving," Imti dropped the twisted straw on his plate and leaned back on the red seat. "I've been here for a while." He glared at Chai, who looked down in fake shame."Sorry! Dance practice took so long..."

"Dance practice?" Imti sounded incredulous when he said it , causing Chai's eyebrows to travel up his face in surprise.

"New shit's happening," Chai shrugged then smiled as the waitress came over. "Ah, what do you have in the protein category?"

The waitress was probably their age but the stress of work had etched lines into her face that gave the illusion of being much older. Stains dotted her white apron, underneath which she wore shabby formal clothes.

"No protein today, sonny," She shook her head and pointed back at a sign which hung over the serving table. "You're gonna have to wait til the weekend for that."

Chai cursed under his breath then looked back at Imti. "Swear Tuesdays had protein, too.""That was seven years ago." Imti picked up the menu and flipped through the pages. Having trouble concentrating on the words, Imti also realized his hunger had disappeared. "Just a coffee for me, please. Milk and sugar."

The waitress scribbled his order and looked wearily at Chai, whose eyebrows were furrowed as he perused the pages of the menu. After a few awkward moments of having her eyes trained on him, Chai relented and ordered a salad and a drink.